Moscow : Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party has secured a record 355 seats in the 450-member State Duma, according to preliminary official results released after a tightly controlled three-day parliamentary poll.
Electoral chief Ella Pamfilova said United Russia won 57.83% of the vote, giving the ruling party its largest-ever share of Duma seats and preserving its constitutional majority.
The election was the first parliamentary poll since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin presented the result as evidence of public unity behind Putin and his policies.
Turnout was reported at more than 59%, with Pamfilova calling the election secure despite a major Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow on the final day of voting.
United Russia dominates Duma
The Communist Party finished second with 40 seats, followed by the nationalist LDPR with 25 and New People with 20. The remaining seats went to Just Russia.
All four parties have generally supported the Kremlin on major issues, including the war in Ukraine.
United Russia’s 355 seats surpass its previous record of 343 and give it enough power to initiate constitutional amendments without support from other parties.
The Kremlin said the result demonstrated a high level of “consolidation” around Putin.
Forty-nine veterans of Russia’s war in Ukraine are also expected to enter the Duma as United Russia lawmakers, according to the party.
In Chechnya, Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov was re-elected regional leader with 99.85% of the vote, according to election officials.
Yabloko makes regional breakthrough.
The anti-war Yabloko party failed to win any seats in the federal parliament but secured a small breakthrough in the Novgorod regional legislature.
With almost all votes counted, Yabloko received just over 6% in the region, crossing the five-percent threshold. The party said more than 12,000 people had voted for it.
Yabloko was barred from contesting the federal parliamentary election, while many of its candidates were also excluded from regional races.
Russia’s opposition and several Western governments have questioned the conduct of the election. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said dissent had been suppressed, while Britain, Australia, Canada and other countries criticised voting held in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
